49ers Re-Sign S Tashaun Gipson
Following up on yesterday’s rumor that the 49ers were interested in bringing back potential free agent safety Tashaun Gipson, the two parties have agreed to a new one-year contract to keep Gipson in red and gold, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network. Gipson will return to start in the defensive backfield opposite first-team All-Pro Talanoa Hufanga. 
Gipson joined the 49ers just prior to the start of the 2022 season, eight days before the 53-man roster cut deadline. He didn’t make the initial 53-man roster and was signed to the practice squad. Gipson was a practice squad elevation in Week 1 to fill in for an injured Jimmie Ward and, two days later, was officially promoted to the active roster.
Gipson had a resurgent 2022 season for San Francisco returning five interceptions for 141 yards, numbers he hadn’t reached since his early years in Cleveland. He started every game of the season at safety alongside Hufanga, with both helping to form the league’s best scoring defense.
Gipson’s new deal is worth $2.9MM, according to Doug Kyed of A to Z Sports. The contract has a guaranteed amount of $2.17MM consisting of a $1MM signing bonus and $1.17MM of salary. Gipson will receive a per game active roster bonus of $40,000 for a potential additional season total of $680,000. He’ll also receive a $50,000 workout bonus. The deal also includes $300,000 in potential incentives that can be triggered through interceptions, fumble recoveries, playing time, team achievements, and a Pro Bowl selection. The contract includes three voidable years to spread out Gipson’s cap hit.
It was assumed that only one of Gipson or Ward would be re-signed, sending the other to the free agent market. With Gipson’s new contract, Ward, the longtime 49ers defensive back, will likely be testing the free agent waters. It may be difficult to say goodbye to Ward, who has been with the team since 2014, but it’s hard not to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of Gipson’s surprising year.
From beginning the year on the practice squad to starting every game of the season, Gipson surpassed all expectations and had a strong season while doing so. In return, Gipson has earned an opportunity to stay with one of the league’s top defenses, which should only assist him in continuing to excel.
Contract Details: Payne, Saints, Carter, Stewart, Pierce
Here are some details on contracts recently signed around the NFL:
- Daron Payne, DT (Commanders): Four-year, $90MM. The deal, according to Mike Florio of NBC Sports, creates around $9.43MM in cap space for Washington heading into free agency. Payne was set to enter the 2023 season with a cap hit of $18.94MM. The new extension applies a $28MM signing bonus spread over four years, along with a base salary in Year 1 of the deal of $2.51MM, to lower Payne’s cap hit to $9.51MM. The new move sets the Commanders up with over $20MM of cap space heading into the new league year.
- Tanoh Kpassagnon, DE (Saints): Two-year, $5MM. The deal, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football, has a guaranteed amount of $2.5MM consisting of a $1.4MM signing bonus and Kpassagnon’s 2023 base salary of $1.1MM. The deal includes three voidable years for cap purposes leading to cap hits of $1.9MM in 2023, $3.3MM in 2024, and $1.786 of dead money in 2025.
- Juwan Johnson, TE (Saints): Two-year, $12MM. The extension, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, has a fully guaranteed amount of $11.51MM consisting of a $5MM signing bonus and both year’s base salaries of $1.01MM in 2023 and $5.5MM in 2024. The contract includes a 2024 roster bonus of $500,000 due on the 5th day of the 2024 league year. There are $2.5MM of incentives available to Johnson in this contract for receptions, yards, and All-Pro selections. Those incentives have escalators in 2024, as well. The deal includes three voidable years to spread out the cap hit.
- Lorenzo Carter, OLB (Falcons): Two-year, $9MM. The deal, according to Field Yates of ESPN, has a guaranteed amount of $4.25MM consisting of a $2MM signing bonus and $2.25MM of the first year’s base salary (worth a total of $3.25MM). The contract also includes an additional amount of $1MM available through incentives.
- M.J. Stewart, S (Texans): Two-year, $6MM. The deal, according to Wilson of KPRC 2, has a guaranteed amount of $3MM consisting of a $1.5MM signing bonus and the first year’s base salary of $1.5MM. The deal also includes potential incentives of up to $1.5MM including $750,000 of playtime incentives. The contract also includes a per game active roster bonus of $14,705 for a potential season total of $250,000.
- Michael Pierce, DT (Ravens): Restructure. The new deal for Pierce includes a new concept in Baltimore. Following the lead of other teams in the NFL, namely the Eagles, the Ravens incorporated voidable years in Pierce’s contract, a first for the franchise. In doing so, though, the team removed the 2024 season from Pierce’s deal, making him a free agent one year sooner than he would’ve been in his original contract.
Giants Rumors: Lawrence, Edwards, WRs, Love
The Giants have been eyeing an extension for star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence for a while now and, following a breakout season, the team has made it a priority. New York started preliminary conversations with Lawrence about two weeks ago, but Jonathan Jones of NFL on CBS claims he wouldn’t be surprised to see a new deal done “sooner than later.”
Despite the ever-growing markets for every position, the league’s market for defensive tackles has never been near the contract of generational talent Aaron Donald. It appears that this will continue to be the case as we see the defensive tackle market reestablished this offseason. Washington has already made Daron Payne the new second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL behind Donald with a four-year, $90MM contract. Payne’s average annual value of $22.5MM is still well short of Donald’s $31.67MM per year.
It will be interesting to see where the Giants go from Payne’s deal. Payne established himself as a premier pass-rushing defensive tackle in the league this season but struggled in run defense. Lawrence didn’t have the pass rush production that Payne did but still excelled in the area while also being strong against the run.
Lawrence graded out as the second-best defensive tackle in the league this year, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). It would make perfect sense for the Giants to reward Lawrence with a contract that surpasses that of Payne’s new deal, but will Lawrence be able to come anywhere close to the heights reached by Donald?
Here are a few more rumors surrounding the Giants’ priorities at the start of the new league year:
- Starting the offseason with 21 unrestricted free agents, New York had a laundry list of names and positions to take care of. One of those positions that has been getting some chatter is inside linebacker. Specifically, the Giants have continuously been connected to Eagles pending free agent linebacker T.J. Edwards, according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post. The four-year Philadelphia defender has had two increasingly impressive breakout seasons, recording career-highs last year in total tackles (159), tackles for loss (10), sacks (2.0), quarterback hits (5), and passes defensed (7). Aside from Edwards, the top name expected to be available at the position is Tremaine Edmunds from Buffalo. Other names of interest for the G-Men include the Commanders’ Cole Holcomb, the Bengals’ Germaine Pratt, the Cowboys’ Leighton Vander Esch, the Lions’ Alex Anzalone, and the Chargers’ Drue Tranquill.
- The wide receivers position has been an obvious need on the Giants’ roster for some time now, but it doesn’t appear that the Giants intend to address that through free agency, according to Pat Leonard of New York Daily News. With their focuses in free agency and the draft reportedly on inside linebackers, defensive linemen, cornerbacks, and interior offensive linemen, thoughts are that the trade market may make more sense for New York. If the Bills aren’t able to reach an extension agreement with Gabriel Davis, the Giants could be strong contenders to acquire his talents. The Rams have granted receiver Allen Robinson permission to seek a trade. Cardinals star receiver DeAndre Hopkins appears to be available for a price, as well. There are other names that could be interesting additions to the trade market such as Cincinnati wideout Tyler Boyd or Denver’s Jerry Jeudy. The team might still make free agency moves for veterans like Cole Beasley or Odell Beckham Jr., but the trade market could be a more attractive way to bring in established talent to New York.
- There is reportedly optimism that the Giants will be able to come to an agreement to re-sign pending free agent safety Julian Love. After two seasons of relatively down play, Love had a bounce-back, breakout season in a contract year. He led the team in tackles by a mile with 124 total and tacked on two interceptions for good measure. Love may not be expected to make top money at the position, but after playing out his rookie contract, it appears Love is on the right track to remaining in New York long-term.
No Extension Imminent For QB Kirk Cousins In Minnesota
As we prepare for the madness of free agency at the opening of the new league year, the Vikings are also attempting to keep their quarterback off of the free agent market for next year. According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, it’s looking more and more likely that Kirk Cousins will be testing free agency a year from now. 
A year ago, the Vikings ensured they would have Cousins under contract through the 2023 season by extending his existing two-year deal an additional season. In each of the two years of that original deal, Cousins held a cap hit of just over $31MM. The additional season sees him once again with an egregious cap hit of $36.25MM.
With those hefty hits on the salary cap, the Vikings are attempting to work with Cousins to figure out an extension that could benefit both parties, earning Cousins a payday while relieving some of the cap pressure on the team. Garafolo’s reports indicates that, as of right now, no deal appears to be imminent.
The team is working with a soft deadline by which they would prefer to have an extension done. Cousins’s current contract includes a 2023 roster bonus of $20MM that becomes guaranteed this week. He’ll be paid $15MM of the bonus next week with the remaining $5MM to be paid out in September. The existing deal also holds two automatically voided years that carry $18.75MM of cap hits into 2024 and 2025.
With no momentum towards a new deal getting done, it’s looking like Cousins intends to play out the last year of his contract, flirting with the idea of free agency this time next year. Minnesota will likely continue to try to work something out, as they are currently near the bottom of the league in cap space for the 2023 season. A failure to reach a new extension with Cousins will make things difficult for the Vikings as we approach the start of free agency.
Titans Shopping RB Derrick Henry?
MARCH 12: Sources tell Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports that Tennessee is not, in fact, shopping Henry. Despite a number of recent (and expected) cuts, the Titans should again be able to compete for a playoff spot in a suspect AFC South, and dealing the focal point of their offense would obviously undermine those efforts (though new GM Ran Carthon indicated he is open to spreading some of Henry’s workload around to other players, as Terry McCormick of The Portland Sun writes).
MARCH 6: Although the free agency period has not officially begun, teams often engage in light conversations with other teams at the NFL scouting combine, gauging interest and market value in certain assets. Team officials will also start shopping players that they might be willing to trade, as was the case this past week with the Titans shopping star running back Derrick Henry, according to Michael Silver of Bally Sports. 
Silver claims his sources were all current NFL general managers who report that Tennessee was attempting to deal their bell cow back. Henry is currently headed into a contract year, in which he will hold a $16.37MM cap hit. The veteran running back has already far exceeded the average career of most NFL running backs, an exceedingly impressive feat considering the physical nature of Henry’s playing style. There’s nothing to suggest that Henry doesn’t still have plenty of gas left in the tank.
That’s not for lack of trying on the Titans’ part. In three of the last four years, Henry has led the NFL in rush attempts. In that fourth year, Henry had 219 carries in eight games before suffering a season-ending injury. In a 17-game season last year, Henry was on pace for 465 carries, which would’ve been an NFL record. This excessive usage has resulted in some very strong seasons for Henry. He led the NFL in rushing yards in 2019 and 2020, breaking the 2,000-yard rushing mark in the latter season. In the 2021 injury-shortened season, Henry was on pace to be approach 2,000 yards rushing for the second straight year. He’s also recorded double-digit touchdowns every season since his second year in the league, including the eight-game 2021 season.
Which teams might be interested in acquiring the bruising runner? There certainly are some strong options for Henry. He may find himself joining Sean Payton‘s first team in Denver. The Broncos have plenty of names under contract next year with Javonte Williams, Chase Edmonds, Damarea Crockett, and Tyler Badie. Williams is expected to be the starter, but after a strong rookie season, injuries held Williams back in Year 2. The Dolphins are another team that could utilize Henry. They currently don’t have any running backs under contract as Salvon Ahmed, Myles Gaskin, Raheem Mostert, and Jeff Wilson are all headed towards free agency. Lastly, the Saints could certainly find themselves in need of a lead running back, depending on what happens with Alvin Kamara.
Even at 29 years old, Henry would be a huge addition to any of these franchises. For one whose past career would indicate a player with not much tread left on the tires, Henry shows no signs of slowing down. The Titans may not be willing to shell out for Henry’s final year, but odds are that some team will.
NFC Free Agency Rumors: Mayfield, Williams, Cominsky, Gipson, Beachum
Former Browns and Panthers quarterback Baker Mayfield was brought in as an emergency option for the Rams last year after an injury to starter Matthew Stafford and ineffective starts by backup John Wolford. Mayfield would go on to win two of five games for the Rams to end a disastrous season in Los Angeles, but after ending the year as the Rams’ starter, Mayfield is not expected to re-sign in LA, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated.
Breer posits that Mayfield will only want to play for a team that will allow him to compete for the starting quarterback job or for a system in which he believes he can unseat the starting quarterback. This could see the former Heisman winner headed back to Texas in Houston or any potential sites such as Atlanta, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, or Tampa Bay. As long as Stafford remains in Los Angeles, though, it appears that Mayfield will not want to remain as a solidified backup.
Here are a few other free agency rumors from around the conference:
- Following an incredible breakout season in Detroit, there is reportedly mutual interest between the Lions and Jamaal Williams in signing a new contract, according to Nolan Bianchi of The Detroit News. The statement comes from Lions executive vice president and general manager Brad Holmes who discovered the interest during preliminary discussions with unrestricted free agents. Williams led the league with 17 rushing touchdowns last season while also recording career-highs in touches (274) and total yardage (1,139).
- Another Lion bound for free agency, versatile defensive end John Cominsky is set to earn an impressive new contract following a breakout year in Detroit. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Cominsky could earn over $5MM per year in a new deal. Waived last offseason by Atlanta, Cominsky received plenty of interest on the waiver wire with eight teams reportedly submitting claims. It’s no question of why as the defensive lineman’s breakout season came as he played through a broken thumb.
- Following his first season in San Francisco, the 49ers are reportedly interested in bringing back veteran safety Tashaun Gipson, according to Matt Barrows of The Athletic. Gipson had a resurgent season in the Bay Area reeling in five interceptions and returning them for a total of 141 yards, harkening back to his first few years in Cleveland. Gipson and longtime 49er Jimmie Ward are both bound for free agency, and San Francisco will likely strive to bring one of them back to start alongside second-year safety Talanoa Hufanga who earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2022.
- Cardinals starting right tackle Kelvin Beachum is currently headed towards free agency after three years in Arizona. Freelance journalist and former Cardinals staff writer Mike Jurecki would like to see Arizona re-sign the veteran heading into his age 34 season, but it’s a big ask for a team that has capable starters in D.J. Humphries and Josh Jones at tackle. With two players already under contract, it’ll be difficult to convince the Cardinals’ brass to bring Beachum back. Beachum may have priced himself out of Arizona as Jurecki points out that there will certainly be a market for the veteran who is still playing well.
QB Carson Wentz Determined To Continue Playing
After limited success in stints with the Eagles, Colts, and Commanders, Carson Wentz is determined to continue playing in the NFL, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network who witnessed the 30-year-old quarterback dining with his agents last weekend. Reports say that the veteran starter is open to performing in “various roles” that will help a team. 
It was only a little over five years ago that Wentz was being lauded as a potential MVP candidate in his sophomore season with Philadelphia. After tearing his ACL in the game that clinch the NFC East title, Nick Foles delivered one of the greatest performances ever by a backup quarterback, leading the team to a Super Bowl LII victory, the franchise’s first. Wentz would continue on to start for the Eagles in future years when healthy, with Foles leaving to start for the Jaguars before getting injured and replaced himself. Wentz continued to deal with injuries here and there and, after getting his fifth-year option exercised, was eventually benched once more in favor of then-rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Wentz was traded then to the Colts in exchange for a first- and third-round pick. Despite foot surgery during training camp, Wentz was able to start every game of the season for Indianapolis. The team seemed destined to make the playoffs before losing in the final week of the season to the 2-14 Jaguars, marking the end of the Wentz-era in Indiana.
Wentz was then traded to the Commanders, along with a second- and seventh-round pick, in exchange for a second-round pick and two third-round picks (one of them conditional). In his first six games, Wentz went 2-4 as a starter before breaking the ring finger on his throwing hand, placing him on injured reserve. In his absence, once again, Wentz found himself replaced as the team rolled with Taylor Heinicke as their starting quarterback even when Wentz was ready to return. He would start (and lose) one more game for the Commanders, but his time with the team was over as they released him two weeks ago.
Now, in search of his fourth team in as many years, Wentz has been humbled, looking to accept any role moving forward. In a league that has seen plenty of success stories over the years from backup quarterbacks like Foles, Matt Cassel, and Brock Purdy, Wentz has a good chance to find a solid role with a team as a strong backup quarterback.
AFC Free Agency Rumors: Jackson, Broncos, Ya-Sin, Raiders
In a recent interview, ESPN’s Adam Schefter expounded a theory on why so many teams are coming out and voicing their disinterest in Lamar Jackson, who received the non-exclusive franchise tag last week and is allowed to negotiate terms with other teams than the Ravens. The theory has nothing to do with Jackson and his outstanding abilities; it has to do with the Ravens’ player personnel staff.
One of the advantages that we teased in earlier reports on the situation was that, by tagging Jackson with the non-exclusive tag, the team would effectively be allowing other teams to do their negotiating for them, since they would likely match any offer opposing teams would make. There was speculation that the Ravens could do this to essentially allow the market to set the value on Jackson.
Schefter theorizes that other teams have no interest in doing Baltimore’s homework for them. Other franchises are fully aware that the Ravens have no intention of letting Jackson walk, so any offer they might make just does the Ravens’ job for them of organizing a new deal for Lamar.
Another added detriment for other teams is that the Ravens would have five days to match the offer or accept Jackson’s departure. In the meantime, the offering team would be stuck in salary cap purgatory, not knowing whether or not it would be taking on the contract of a premier veteran quarterback or not. This is extremely unattractive as free agency is due to open next week. If a team is stuck for five days not knowing their financial position, it becomes difficult to negotiate with other free agents.
Here are a few other free agency rumors from around the conference:
- An example not too unsimilar from the above phenomenon may occur in Denver, where new Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has recently arrived from Arizona. Joseph may also bring along a former player as, according to freelance journalist and former Cardinals staff writer Mike Jurecki, the Broncos reportedly have lots of interest in Cardinals pending free agent defensive end Zach Allen. Allen is expected to earn an impressive contract this offseason after a standout contract year in Arizona.
- In a recent mailbag with Las Vegas Review-Journal writer Vincent Bonsignore, a question was posed about the potential for the Raiders to re-sign cornerback Rock Ya-Sin. According to Bonsignore, the team is certainly open to bringing Ya-Sin back, for the right price. Ya-Sin followed up an impressive 2021 season in Indianapolis with a decent year in Las Vegas after being traded straight up for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The team could certainly use Ya-Sin as their cornerback depth has been whittled down over the years, and a semi-down year for the young corner could assist in setting up the “right price” for the Raiders.
Saints Approaching Deadline On Extension For WR Michael Thomas
The Saints are facing down the clock as they attempt to negotiate an extension with veteran wide receiver Michael Thomas, resulting in some productive talks but not quite sealing the deal, according to Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. The progress is crucial as the team approaches the self-imposed deadline set up in Thomas’s restructured contract. 
When New Orleans restructured the former All-Pro’s five-year, $96.25MM deal earlier this year, it set up a timebomb due to detonate on the third day of the new league year, which falls on March 17. When the team moved almost $14.5MM from his 2023 base salary to his 2024 roster bonus, it put immediate pressure on the Saints’ brass to get a new deal done.
Thomas’s new 2024 roster bonus, again, due in six days, currently measures $31.755MM. If the Saints and Thomas are unable to reach an agreement for an extension by March 17, the roster bonus becomes guaranteed and immediately hamstrings the team with a massive amount of dead money implications.
If the team were to release Thomas as a pre-June 1 cut, an almost unthinkable possibility, the team would be shouldered with almost $50MM in dead cap over the next four years. Designating him as a post-June 1 cut would lessen the dead money to just over $26MM and provide the Saints with cap savings of $1.37MM in 2023 and $6.19MM in 2024.
Thomas is long removed from the 2019 season that saw him lead the NFL in receptions (149) and receiving yards (1,725), playing in only ten games since receiving all of his accolades for that year. He did display a spark of that talent in the three games he played this season, but the emergence of rookies Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed in his absence has made Thomas’s presence more icing than cake.
The restructuring initially had many under the impression that New Orleans intended to part ways with the former Offensive Player of the Year, but with Underhill’s most recent report, it appears that the two parties are attempting to prolong their partnership. Regardless of their decision, Thomas’s current contact is untenable, and the deadline to make a decision that the team set up for itself is fast approaching.
Panthers Release LB Damien Wilson
One year into a two-year contract, linebacker Damien Wilson has been released by the Panthers, according to Panthers staff writer Darin Gantt. Wilson had been brought in to supplement a linebacking corps consisting of Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, and Cory Littleton, but with Carolina transitioning to a 3-4 defense under a new coaching staff, Wilson doesn’t necessarily fit in the team’s plans going forward. 
Wilson had made headlines soon after signing with the team last spring, getting arrested on an assault charge. Wilson’s ex-girlfriend, Ryan Sokolosky, had told the newspaper that Wilson showed up at her apartment drunk and threatened to kill her while holding a tire iron. Wilson then choked a friend of Sokolosky’s who was with her that night, according to Sokolosky. Wilson followed the two women into Sokolosky’s apartment, where the alleged choking occurred, before getting back into his car and attempting to run Sokolosky over with the vehicle.
While the incident likely didn’t help Wilson’s case, the Panthers are painting it as a cut-and-dry cap clearing move. Wilson had earned his two-year, $6.9MM contract after a career year in Jacksonville. After he failed to contribute at the same level in 2022, and Carolina made their plans to shift defensive schemes, the Panthers made the relatively simple decision to move on from Wilson, clearing approximately $3.6MM in cap space and leaving about $1.08MM in dead money. While getting released on its own is an unfortunate circumstance for Wilson, what hurts more is that he was due a $1MM roster bonus next week.
In a four-linebacker defense, pass rusher Brian Burns will likely move from defensive end to outside linebacker. Luvu can probably function as the opposite side’s outside linebacker after playing a third of his defensive snaps last season on the line. Thompson will man one inside linebacker position. Littleton, headed towards unrestricted free agency, would get the first chance at the other inside position if re-signed. Wilson would’ve been in line to start at that second inside position without Littleton, but even in last year’s 4-3 defense, Wilson had been losing snaps to rookie linebacker Brandon Smith, before first-year defender out of Penn State suffered a season-ending injury late in the year.
Wilson will head back to free agency, this time much less lauded than last year. Following the second arrest of his NFL career and a down year of play in Carolina, Wilson’s market value will be a bit depressed from what it was previously. He’s still the player who was second on the team in tackles for the Jaguars two seasons ago and should be able to find a franchise to take a chance on him this offseason.